Google has said it’s hiking the price of its YouTube TV streaming service in America due to higher content costs, in line with price increases made by other video streaming providers recently.
YouTube TV is not to be confused with the regular YouTube. It’s a streaming service that’s meant to replace traditional cable TV, providing access to live TV and cable channels via an internet connection.
The service announced its price increase on Twitter, saying it would be raising the cost of a monthly subscription from the previous $64.99 to $72.99 per month. It’s the first price hike in more than three years.
YouTube TV may feel confident that it’s able to get away with raising its asking price, as the company recently struck a deal with the NFL, the organizing body of American Football. That deal makes YouTube TV the exclusive home of the popular NFL Sunday Ticket package, allowing it to broadcast Sunday night football games live. YouTube will pay about $2 billion per year for the package, it was reported. The company faced competition from several other bidders, including Apple and Disney, to gain its NFL rights.
According to Google, it took the decision to increase its price “because of the broader rise of content costs & not specifically due to our new football offerings.”
With YouTube TV, users can create up to six individual accounts for family members, which is notably more than the four accounts allowed with a premium Netflix subscription.
Interestingly, new users won’t have to pay the full $72.99 per month if they sign up now. On YouTube TV’s home page, the $72.99 price tag has been crossed out, replaced with a $62.99 per month fee for the first three months in a “limited time offer”. YouTube TV said the new price will go into effect for existing subscribers on April 18.
YouTube TV rivals including Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Hulu have all increased their prices recently, while the normal YouTube app raised the price for its premium, ad-free service to $22.99 per month.
However, it should be noted that YouTube TV costs far more than other streaming services, which don’t offer a lot by way of live TV coverage. For instance, Netflix costs between $6.99 to $19.99 per month, depending on the package, while HBO Max costs between $9.99 and $15.99, and Disney+ charges $7.99 to $10.99. Amazon Prime Video costs $14.99 per month, though there are other benefits to being a Prime member. The cheapest service is Apple TV+, which costs just $6.99 per month. Hulu costs between $7.99 and $14.99 per month.
